Barbara and I started the day at the Butterfly place in Mindo. The tour (in English) included an explanation of the life cycle of the butterflies. There were a lot of butterflies and I got a couple of GREAT photos. The butterflies will easily sit on your finger, especially if you put a dab of banana mush on the end. http:\/\/share.shutterfly.com\/action\/welcome?sid=8BcMWbNu2ZKX0A <\/p>\n
Every afternoon at 4 PM there’s a tour of the chocolate factory here at El Quetzal. Jose Meza, owner of El Quetzal, entreprenuer, and husband of Barbara Wilson, does a great job of telling the history of his business, history of chocolate, and showing the steps to making chocolate. Also included in the tour is the garden behind El Quetzal, often used in the preparation of the meals served there. The highlight, of course, is the tasting at the end of the tour. The award winning chocolate is used to make the best brownies on the planet, which is the last part of the tour.<\/p>\n
In the evening, Barbara and I went to the “Frog Concert” just a bit out of town. It’s easy to see how the eco-tourism business has become a part of this town and culture. The frog place takes groups around after dark and, amazingly enough, finds frogs, shining flashlights on them for us to see. Although there are about 20 different frogs in the frog pond area, the tour usually only includes about five. We also saw a walking stick and another insect\/spider like creature. <\/p>\n
Mindo is in the “Cloud Forest”. I feel like I’m back in the rain forest of Puerto Rico. Everything is lush and green and looks like it’s on steriods. It rains every day and it’s humid. The temperature is mild enough, though, so it is comfortable. The view from the back yard of El Quetzal is “bonita” – lush, green, over grown, with the clouds touching the tops of the mountains. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Barbara and I started the day at the Butterfly place in Mindo. The tour (in English) included an explanation of the life cycle of the butterflies. There were a lot of butterflies and I got a couple of GREAT photos. The butterflies will easily sit on your finger, especially if you put a dab of banana mush on the end.<\/p>\n